The final surfacing of a court is done by means of clay and sand in the proportion of about four or five to one, the clay of course being in excess. To mix clay and sand thoroughly, the former should first be pulverized thoroughly when dry and the mixture sifted over the court carefully and evenly. The next step is rolling and wetting, and more rolling and wetting until finally the whole is allowed to dry and is ready for play. The slight irregularities and roller ridges that often appear in a court will soon be worn off by the players’ feet, but playing of course will not change the grade. A new court will be greatly improved by use, but no one should be allowed on a court except with rubber-soled shoes. Heeled shoes will soon ruin a court, and it is bad practice even to allow any one to walk over a court unless with proper footwear.
The preliminary levelling of a court can be accomplished with a rake and a straight-edged board, but after the clay has become packed and hard it will be necessary to use considerable force in scraping off the inequalities. A metal cutting edge, such as a hoe or scraper, will be found useful. A court should be swept with a coarse broom to distribute the fine material evenly. Another very good sweeper can be made from a piece of wood about six or eight feet long to which several thicknesses of bagging have been tacked or fastened. The final step in making a court consists in marking it out. Most courts are marked so that they will be suitable either for singles or doubles or so that either two or four people can play at a time. Where tape markers are to be used, the proper distances will appear on the tape without measuring, but if lime is used for marking a careful plotting will be necessary to secure the proper distances, after which the corners should be indicated by angle irons, so that the court may be remarked at any time without re-measuring.
A game of doubles in lawn tennis
Considerable difficulty is often experienced by beginners in marking out a court, and, in fact, it is not a simple matter. The first thing of importance is to determine generally one corner of the court and to get a base line and a side line at a true right angle of ninety degrees. The same principle may be employed that is used by builders and surveyors in “squaring a building,” as it is called. You will need a ten-foot pole with marks for the feet indicated on it in lead pencil, and in addition to this a few 20-penny spikes and a ball of stout twine. Drive a nail into the ground where you want one corner of the court and fasten the line to it; then stretch the line to another nail to mark either a side line or back line. You will then have one side and the corner fixed, and the problem is to get another line at right angles to it. Boys who have studied geometry know that “in a right-angle triangle the square of the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides.” It isn’t necessary to understand this, but it is the principle employed in “squaring.” You next stretch another line and have some one hold it. On the fixed side line you measure eight feet from the corner nail and mark it with a piece of twine tied around the line. You also make a six-foot mark on the line to be at right angles to it, the exact direction of which is yet to be determined. Both of these measurements must be accurate. The boy on the end of the loose line moves it until the distance between the two pieces of twine is exactly the length of your ten-foot pole. The angle thus formed is exactly ninety degrees, or a right angle. Having obtained one side and one end, to finish marking is simply a matter of making the necessary measurements of a court as shown on the diagram and marking each intersecting point with a nail driven into the ground.
How to mark out a tennis court
Another way to lay out a court is to drive two stakes or nails into the ground 27 feet apart. (The line of these stakes should be the position of the net.) Then take two pieces of twine, one 47 feet 5 inches long, and the other 39 feet. Fasten one line to each of the spikes that you have placed 27 feet apart. Where the two lines meet as they are pulled taut are the true corners of the court, as there are only four points where they can meet. The various measurements can then be marked as above by referring to the diagram. It is customary to mark a double court and to indicate the lines for singles afterward.
The game of tennis may be played either by two or four persons, or sometimes an expert player will stand two beginners. The ball used is rubber filled with air and covered with white felt and is 2½ inches in diameter. It is necessary to play with two balls, and to save time in chasing those that go wild it is customary to play with three or four.